My situation is a bit unique.
I have never been in my arena shard chat. But when I got Rey and took #1, one person in the arena chat reached out to me asking me not to hit them before their payout, They explained they are Free to play. I obliged, They were polite in their request.
I have heard from him, that others in the shard chat aren't happy because I tend to snipe them or whatever. I told him, tell them tough cookies. I play when I want. I explained, he was the only one who reached out to me.
And that when I had my GAS team and my DR team, they weren't showing me any love.
I am a whale, they know it. They know there is nothing preventing me from spending and holding #1 all day, all week all month all year. It's now them who are having to play nice. And I'm not in the shard.
My advice to you is, if you have the team to take a top spot... do it. Don't be apologetic either.